Giovanni van Bronckhorst believes Liverpool are difficult to play against because their "playing style is direct with long balls".
The Reds take on Champions League rivals Rangers at Ibrox on Wednesday night. The Scottish giants are after their maiden points of the tournament after losing their first three fixtures to Napoli, Ajax and Liverpool - suffering a 2-0 loss at Anfield last week.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are hoping to take another step towards the knockout stages of the Champions League in Glasgow. Last season's finalists picked up six points from their first three outings, despite suffering a humbling 4-1 defeat to Napoli in Italy.
Liverpool have endured a tough start to the season - winning just two of their first eight Premier League games to sit 10th in the table - but are still regarded as one of the best teams in Europe. They've won seven trophies since the start of the 2018/19 campaign.
Jurgen Klopp's side are renowned for their relentless style of play, often pressuring their opponents into submission. They also make the most of their pacey forwards by playing balls over the top of opposition defences for the likes of Mohamed Salah to attack.
Rangers manager Van Bronckhorst has noticed Liverpool's tactics and was keen to highlight them in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday evening - although his use of the words "long balls" is unlikely to go down well with Liverpool supporters.
Would you describe Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool as a long-ball team? Let us know in the comments below!
"It's always important to keep focus but it will hectic because Liverpool's playing style is direct with long balls, runners and they have a lot of pace," Van Bronckhorst is quoted as saying. "Mentally, we have to be strong and make sure we stay with 11 men."
Van Bronckhorst also admitted Rangers need to beat Liverpool to keep their hopes alive. "Ideally we need 3 points against Liverpool," he added. "We have to see other results but we want to proceed in Europe when we play our last game at home against Ajax."
Several Liverpool players will miss Wednesday night's game due to injury. Luis Diaz (knee), Trent Alexander-Arnold (ankle) and Joel Matip (calf) all picked up complaints in the 3-2 defeat to Premier League leaders Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, Andy Robertson, Curtis Jones and Arthur Melo are also nursing injuries - although some of those are back in training and in contention for the game. Van Bronckhorst is taking nothing for granted, despite Liverpool's injuries.
"Liverpool is a team who has been in three finals in five seasons, they have a top coach, top squad with balance," he said. "Even with injuries they can still field a strong side. It's the first time we play against them [at Ibrox], but it would be a great win if we achieve it."
Rangers midfielder John Lundstram added: "I do think everyone feels we can get a result tomorrow. I don't think we'd field a team if we didn't feel that."
